<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Take in the Sunset by breedofjealousy (Maddymoonchild)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089147">Take in the Sunset</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maddymoonchild/pseuds/breedofjealousy'>breedofjealousy (Maddymoonchild)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, KH3 Ending spoilers, Light Angst, Mentions of other Kingdom Hearts and Disney characters, Minor Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Canon, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Seasalt Trio - Freeform, Self-Reflection, Twilight Town (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:02:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,991</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26089147</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maddymoonchild/pseuds/breedofjealousy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Isa adjusts to his new normal in Twilight Town and wonders if he's allowed any of this at all.</p><p>Inspired by Isa/Saix's story "Say What You Will" from the KH3 Character Files</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Take in the Sunset</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's been a really long time since I've written any Kingdom Hearts fic, let alone shared it online, so to say I'm nervous to post this is an understatement.</p><p>I prepped this as an example for applying to zines, but I liked it enough to post it. Isa is one of my favorite characters and I wanted to explore how he might have been feeling after KH3.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Twilight Town was a quaint place with lots of kind people. Isa didn’t mind the idea of moving there. After all, he was finally rid of Xehanort’s influence and was returning to normal life. Whatever normal was, he thought.</p><p>“Whaddaya think?” Lea asked.</p><p>Isa looked at Lea. He hadn’t realized he’d been lost in his own thoughts.</p><p>Lea, his best friend since childhood, was the reason Isa was going to Twilight Town. The reason Isa had somewhere to go in the first place.</p><p>“It’s fine, I suppose,” he said quickly.</p><p>“Aww, come on, Isa, don’t be like that.”</p><p>Lea slung his long arm over Isa’s shoulders and pulled him further into the room. They were looking at an apartment to move into.</p><p>“It has a view of the clock tower, two rooms, decent kitchen. It’s perfect. What don’t you like about it?”</p><p>Isa sighed. “Nothing. It’s fine.”</p><p>He was feeling conflicted about everything. It had been a few weeks since everything had ended and, at first, Isa had accepted it all, become one of the group, happy and carefree. But then the dread of everything from his past set in. He couldn’t forget what he’d done to the people he now called friends, even Lea. Isa couldn’t wrap his mind around the thought of them forgiving him so easily either.</p><p>Lea stepped in front of him and Isa had to look up. When had he become so tall?</p><p>“Isa, what’s buggin’ ya?”</p><p>He wasn’t sure how to explain to Lea how he was feeling, how this chasm had opened between him and every other person. He hated it. Yet he couldn’t force any words from his mouth.</p><p>Lea looked genuinely concerned, his green eyes bright. Isa felt a small smile form on his face. It was easy to feel relaxed with Lea. All the feelings that had been overwhelming washed away in seconds.</p><p>“I’m okay,” he said, “This place will do just fine.”</p><p>“Well, good, ‘cause I already got the keys.”</p><p>Lea pushed a key into Isa’s hand. Isa blinked up at him. The other man could be so unpredictable.</p><p>“Apartment seventy-eight,” he said, “Got it memorized?”</p><p>Lea tapped the side of his forehead with his index finger while he said it. He’d been saying something along those lines for years and Isa couldn’t help laughing.</p><p>“Seventy-eight? Did you do that on purpose?”</p><p>“Hmm, maybe,” Lea said in a teasing tone.</p><p>He bumped shoulders with Isa. Isa smiled and put the key in his jacket pocket. He was still quite enjoying the concept of wearing clothes that could be seen, instead of only a cloak after so many years.</p><p>Isa walked further into the apartment to take a real look around. Earlier he’d maybe taken a glance, but he’d been too lost in his thoughts and feelings to concentrate. It felt foreign to be human again.</p><p>It was a roomy place—decent sized living room with connected kitchen that had a perfect view of the Twilight Town clock tower. The bedrooms were spacious enough.</p><p>Isa could see himself living there, could imagine himself there with Lea, happy.</p><p>“Is that okay?” he asked softly.</p><p>“Huh?” Lea called.</p><p>He wasn’t even sure how his best friend had heard him from across the room. Isa felt a swell in his heart and it took him a moment to realize it was happiness.</p><p>“Just thinking out loud.”</p><p>“Is that so? Mind sharing with the class?” Lea asked.</p><p>He walked toward him, the sound of his boots loud on the wooden floor. Isa turned around to look at him. Lea stopped, surprise on his face, then grinned.</p><p>“It’s good to see you smile, Isa.”</p><p>Isa turned his face away, felt the heat of his cheeks, and adjusted the collar of his jacket. “Whatever. Shouldn’t we be going or something?”</p><p>Lea’s fingers slid along the shell of his ear suddenly and Isa involuntarily shivered.</p><p>“Kinda miss the points,” Lea mumbled.</p><p>Isa closed his eyes and breathed in deep. Lea let out a laugh and pulled back, his hands up in surrender.</p><p>“Okay, I won’t tick ya off anymore. But, you’re right, we should go.”</p><p>He nodded and followed Lea out the door. He made sure to lock it, since Lea didn’t.</p><p>—x—</p><p>The Twilight Town kids were a noisy bunch of teenagers. Isa was still adjusting to them, but he didn’t mind it too much. Sometimes he wondered if it was odd that two grown men were friends with them, but Lea was always so happy, he couldn’t be bothered to question it anymore. The way he laughed alongside them brought too much joy to abandon.</p><p>Isa was currently the odd one out. The group was enthusiastically discussing something he didn’t understand. Despite that, he was glad to see Xion and Roxas having fun. After everything they had been through, they deserved to be happy.</p><p>The small inkling of doubt that he didn’t belong there curled up in his chest again. Isa nervously started to chew on a fingernail.</p><p>Lea glanced at him from over the heads of the children. It was hilarious how he would have to bend in half or squat to be more at their level. He stood up and walked over to Isa, but before he could ask what was wrong, Isa spoke.</p><p>“What are they all talking about so fervently?”</p><p>“Oh, those games they can play on their phones. The promotional ones Mr. McDuck released.”</p><p>“Mr. McDuck…?”</p><p>“The owner of the bistro. The grouchy duck.”</p><p>“Oh. That was quite obvious,” Isa said, hand supporting his chin as if he was in thought.</p><p>Lea laughed. “They’re actually pretty fun. You should try it out.”</p><p>Lea drew his phone out of his pocket and showed Isa one of the games. The phone looked small in his hands compared to the kids’.</p><p>Isa observed the simplistic graphics and mechanics of the game. He could see why they occupied children and maybe a few simple-minded adults like Lea. Isa knew that was a tad mean, but Lea was still like a child sometimes. It wasn’t bad by any means, though. He didn’t think it out of malice.</p><p>“Augh. I’m terrible at this,” Lea complained when he died a second later.</p><p>Isa laughed a bit and covered his mouth.</p><p>“See? You should download one. Be my friend so we can compare high scores.”</p><p>“I don’t have a phone,” Isa said.</p><p>Isa didn’t know if he could even work a phone, but then again, Lea could do it. It couldn’t have been that hard if he could do it.</p><p>“Oh!” Lea said in surprise, “We should get you one.”</p><p>Isa wanted to say he really didn’t need one, but maybe he did. He didn’t know. What if the children thought he was odd for not wanting one? He already barely fit in.</p><p>“You guys,” Lea called, “Isa doesn’t have a phone!”</p><p>“What?” Hayner yelled.</p><p>Isa didn’t know Hayner, Olette, or Pence very well. From what he could tell, Hayner was the de facto leader, though sometimes it was Roxas. Hayner was probably the loudest of all the Twilight Town children too.</p><p>“You don’t have a phone?” Olette asked.</p><p>“I don’t.”</p><p>“I don’t have one either,” Xion said, “I’ve just been using Roxas’s.”</p><p>Isa was surprised Xion had not received a phone yet either. She had settled in rather quickly in Twilight Town, but perhaps because it had always basically been her home.</p><p>She smiled at Isa and he faltered a bit. It was hard for him to believe Xion, of all people, had forgiven him so easily. He’d helped Xehanort use her for the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness and so much more, and yet she didn’t seem bothered by that in the least.</p><p>He gave her a slight nod.</p><p>“We’ve gotta get ya one,” Pence said. “They might have some older ones at the junk shop. It should do just fine. Then you can save some munny.”</p><p>“He’ll take anything,” Lea said with a wave of his hand, “Doesn’t need to be the best.”</p><p>Isa would have argued, that, in fact, he did need the best, but that was a thought from the old Isa. The new Isa didn’t deserve the best. He tried to ignore that thought.</p><p>“Yes, anything would be fine,” he said instead.</p><p>Hayner cheered. “Let’s go!”</p><p>He took off in a rush with Pence on his tail, though he wasn’t keeping up too well. Olette and Xion walked together. Roxas remained behind for a moment and looked at Isa. He wasn’t sure what Roxas was thinking or even how he felt. They hadn’t spoken much. Roxas turned away and followed after the kids quickly. Lea walked after them, his long legs carrying him nearly twice as fast.</p><p>Isa, for a brief moment, thought he shouldn’t follow. He should let them go off and be happy without him. They didn’t need him. But Isa didn’t want to let them go. He wanted to make connections. He didn’t want to lose Lea, for the fear that his jealousy and abandonment issues would return.</p><p>Isa didn’t realize he was running until he was just behind Lea and he grabbed hold of Lea’s vest. Lea stopped and looked back at him.</p><p>“Ya alright, Isa?”</p><p>“Wait for me.”</p><p>Lea laughed a bit. Isa took his place beside him and they started to walk together.</p><p>“I feel like all I do now is ask if you’re okay,” Lea said, hands in his pockets.</p><p>“I suppose you do.”</p><p>“What a change for us. When did ya become the crybaby?”</p><p>“I am not a crybaby. That is most certainly you.”</p><p>Isa shot him a glare, but Lea was grinning. He’d gotten whatever it was from Isa he’d wanted. Isa looked away in annoyance, but he felt happy too.</p><p>—x—</p><p>The junk shop wasn’t big enough to fit all of them, so Isa was stuck inside with Xion, Pence, and Roxas.</p><p>“What’s something ya’d like, Isa?” Pence asked.</p><p>“I…” Isa paused. “I’m not really sure. What would you suggest?”</p><p>Isa used to be more snippy and sarcastic, but he’d become more reserved over the years. It was why he felt comfortable asking for help from a child. Besides, it was okay to admit that he didn’t know what he was doing.</p><p>“Well, this model is good for just about anything. It’s a little lower end than the ones we have, since it’s older, but it works pretty well,” Pence said while he showed Isa, “You can make calls, send messages, and play games without too much trouble. What do you think?”</p><p>“It sounds good,” Isa said with a nod.</p><p>Pence gave him a thumbs up. He then started to talk to Xion about what she wanted. Isa waited quietly. Roxas came to stand beside him.</p><p>“You don’t have to play along, you know,” he said, “You don’t have to get something you aren’t interested in.”</p><p>Roxas had become quite mature, a soft spoken yet thoughtful teenager. Isa respected him more than before.</p><p>“I thought it might be fun.” He shrugged a bit.</p><p>“Isa? Fun? Never thought that would happen,” Roxas said.</p><p>Isa really thought he was mad at him, showing his true feelings, but then Roxas laughed.</p><p>“It really is peaceful now, huh?”</p><p>He was caught off guard by the sentiment, but Roxas was right. They were in a seeming time of peace. It was a hard thing for all of them to grasp. There was no more fighting, no worry about the state of the worlds. There were still a few things Isa needed to take care of, things he wanted answers to, but they weren’t something to be hurried. Even the progress in finding Sora was moving steadily along. Isa hadn’t heard much about that, but he figured once Riku and the other keyblade wielders chose to call upon them, the Twilight Town residents would answer.</p><p>Isa said, “Roxas.”</p><p>Roxas looked up at him. He was still so much like a child, but his eyes appeared much darker, hardened with age and wisdom he couldn’t fathom. Isa wanted to tell him he was sorry, because even if he had tried to atone, he knew it hadn’t been enough. He wanted Roxas to know that he’d tried, though, and to see if he’d noticed. Isa wanted to be forgiven and to belong in his new life, yet somehow he couldn’t seem to escape his past.</p><p>“You don’t have to say anything,” Roxas said, “The past is in the past.”</p><p>Isa blinked. He was shocked that Roxas had somehow known to respond to his feelings. He wondered if it was plain on his face what he was thinking.</p><p>“Here’s your phone!”</p><p>Pence thrusted a bag into Isa’s hand, effectively ruining the moment. He felt a bit relieved. Isa drew the phone out and looked at it. The small brick of glass and plastic, or perhaps it was metal, was foreign to him.</p><p>“Here. I’ll help you,” Roxas said.</p><p>He took the phone from him and turned it on. Isa observed how he did it. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Xion was having no trouble at all. Roxas started to tap quickly and Isa wasn’t sure what he was doing. He handed it back to him after a few minutes.</p><p>“There, it’s all set up. You have everyone’s phone numbers and I downloaded a game for you.”</p><p>Roxas said it so quickly that Isa almost couldn’t tell what he’d said, so it took him a moment to process. He smiled down at the phone a bit fondly then.</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>He was thanking him for his help, but it held so much more meaning than that. Roxas seemed almost embarrassed and rubbed at the back of his neck with a soft laugh.</p><p>—x—</p><p>“Got it all worked out?” Lea asked while they walked back down the street of Station Heights.</p><p>Isa nodded absently. He’d almost been in a daze since they left the junk shop, caught up in his own thoughts and feelings again. The breakthrough with Roxas had stirred up all his emotions.</p><p>“Yo, Isa,” Lea called. He waved a hand in front of his face. “Earth to Isa.”</p><p>Isa startled and looked at him. “What?”</p><p>“We should probably look at buying furniture, don’tcha think?”</p><p>“Yes, I suppose. But I’m picking it out. You can’t be trusted,” he said.</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?”</p><p>Isa shrugged. He noticed the kids had stopped to look at the community bulletin board. The kids were pretty hardworking, if he was honest, always working to make a munny or two. He admired them, was proud of them. It made him happy that he could be a part of their group.</p><p>“We should buy everyone ice cream,” he said suddenly.</p><p>Lea looked at him. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”</p><p>“Hey, you guys, come on!” Olette called.</p><p>Lea raised his hand in a wave. “Isa and I have to do something. We’ll meet you guys at the clock tower.”</p><p>The two of them headed for the closest place to buy sea salt ice cream.</p><p>Sea salt ice cream was a fond memory for Isa. It was something he and Lea had shared when they were teenagers and now they could share it with their new friends. There wasn’t anything much more satisfying than watching the sunset on the clock tower while eating sea salt ice cream with his friends. Because the Twilight Town kids were his friends. If Isa was truly honest, those kids and Lea were more than his friends—they were his family.</p><p>—x—</p><p>They purchased the ice cream and took it to the clock tower. Hayner, Pence, Olette, Xion, and Roxas looked so happy while they ate it. They talked about their games on their phone again, but took the time to explain it to Isa every so often. He was kind of starting to understand.</p><p>Isa was happy, but he started to have the self-doubting thoughts. He wondered if he was truly okay to let them go, to accept that he had been forgiven and could move on. Had he truly atoned for what he’d done?</p><p>“Is it okay?” he whispered out loud once more.</p><p>“Is what okay?” Lea asked.</p><p>He took a bite of his ice cream while he looked at Isa with inquisitive eyes. Isa wondered if he should keep it all inside, but that time, he felt confident enough to voice his fears out loud.</p><p>“Is it okay for me to be happy? To be here with all of you?”</p><p>Lea took a moment to respond. He chewed thoughtfully, then took another bite off of his already near gone ice cream.</p><p>“I’d say so,” he said then.</p><p>He turned to look Isa directly in the eyes.</p><p>“We want you here, Isa. Got it memorized?”</p><p>Isa felt the shackles on his heart fall away then. They’d already loosened in the past weeks, but he was finally freed from the doubt with Lea’s confirmation. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. How ironic that it was the crybaby who had comforted him and now it was his turn to cry.</p><p>Lea’s hand rested on the crown of his head. “Don’t go cryin’ on me.”</p><p>Isa turned away and rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, then took a bite of his ice cream. The cold stung his teeth, but it was the perfect distraction from his emotions. He had emotions again and it was the most liberating experience. They wanted him there and that fulfilled his desire to be needed, something he’d been searching for since his boyhood.</p><p>“Hey, Isa,” Roxas called, “Do you know why the sun sets red?”</p><p>Lea had told it to him once, long ago. He knew he’d told it to Roxas as well.</p><p>“No. Tell me,” Isa said with a smile.</p><p>Isa had a bright future ahead of him—a place to call his home and friends, his family, to spend it with.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>